PEPPERMINT

Jennifer Garner     John Gallagher, Jr.     Juan Pablo Raba     Richard Cabral     Annie Ilonzeh

     What a birthday when you and your mom are insulted by another mom in a parking lot, no one comes to your party, and your whole family is shot after a fun night at the carnival.  Your mom, Riley (Garner) does survive, however, and now there is hell to pay. This woman is angry!

     But she will get angrier when the case comes to court, and the D.A. and the judge let the perpetrators, whom she has accurately identified, go free and send her off to the psychiatric hospital.  Yeah, “something’s rotten in Denmark.” But the powers that be haven’t the faintest idea of what Riley North is capable of.  She manages to avoid the hospital and disappears. Effectively.

     When Riley does reappear, it is not the “simple” bank teller and nurturing mom everyone thought they knew.  Suddenly, people across the city are being killed mysteriously—not the good guys, but the bad guys who betrayed the Rileys.  She becomes a heroine on social media, especially when she does in the corrupt players in the justice system and the cartel-friendly crooks on Skid Row.  She's become a vigilante (and the movie could be faulted for glorifying this dubious role.)

     If you ignore that fact, the story is exciting and holds your attention for the most part.  Jennifer Garner has appeared primarily in light fare, and seldom as the lead.  In the unfortunate Elektra as a female ninja, it got her nowhere, but she gets more of a chance to show her lead actress skills in Peppermint as an enraged woman who spends much time, attention, and careful planning to earn her super woman bona fides. The problem is, the story strains credulity when she disappears and suddenly returns as a completely different woman.  The filmmakers should have shown how she went around the world training to be the fighter she is shown to be in the last half of the movie, an expert shot, familiar with military grade weapons, and the ability to wipe out beefy goons who attack her physically.

     So while I applaud the movie for highlighting a strong woman capable not only of admirable foresight and planning, but in execution as well, I find fault in its not making it more believable by showing how she achieved these capabilities.  These things don’t emerge simply from anger; as many who have trained diligently in gyms, shooting ranges, and intelligence will tell you; it takes drive, commitment, and time to become an expert in combat and counterintelligence.

For a different take on typical crime movies, you may find this a novel and exciting diversion.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BREAKING IN

Gabrielle Union     Billy Burke     Richard Cabral     Ajiona Alexus     

Levi Meaden     Mark Furze     Jason George     Seth Karr

     Picture a large house out in the woods with acreage around it.  That’s where Shaun (Union) grew up, and now that her father has died (they have been estranged, so she hasn’t been home in years), she is responsible for selling it.  Neither she nor her two kids are happy about giving up a weekend at home, and when they arrive at the house, it’s a bit creepy with its electronic gadgets and high tech security system (alarms, cameras, lights—all connected to a monitoring station.  You would think they would get a feeling of safety—which was the idea of having it installed—but the house is a bit creaky, and son Glover’s (Karr) association to it is one of loneliness.  His sister Jasmine (Alexus) is relieved that she has cell phone service “way out here.”

     Shaun is trying to adjust to feelings brought up by her childhood home, and just wants to get everything settled and get back to husband and hearth.  

     Intruders weren’t on the agenda, of course, but soon after the family arrives, there they are.  The first one, Eddie (Burke) moves stealthily and comes upon the kids, then goes out to the patio looking for their mother.  What follows is a cats and mice game in and out of the house with harrowing twists and turns.  The rewarding part, of course, is the fact that the mother is not your stereotypical “mom”; Shaun is clearly up to the crime team in wits and daring.  And although the film publicity plays up the mom-doing-everything-to-protect-her-young, I think winning—along with morality—is built into her character.  She will do what she does primarily to protect her children, but it goes farther than that into assuring that justice will be done.

     Gabrielle Union is stunning in the role, including fitness that allows her to jump across fences, run into the woods with agility, and be a worthy opponent in a physical fight.  She is good as well in her role as mom and wife, but with a past that weighs her down from time to time.  This event is only one instance of that.

     I think the four “bad guys” roles are well cast with a leader (Meaden) trying to contain his crew, especially Duncan (Cabral), the most deranged, and Peter (Furze), the most bothered by limits that have been crossed.  Eddie (Burke), with a critical role in the operation, has been missing most of the time, thanks to an encounter in the woods with Shaun.

     Breaking In is well written by Ryan Engle and directed by James McTeigue.  Their characters are plausible and behave in ways that are within the realm of believability.  The scare factor is maintained pretty much throughout, in a what’s-going-to-happen-next mode.  I spotted just a few times when credulity was strained, i.e., when Shaun was talking to her daughter in loud whispers that the bad guys were sure to hear, and when she didn’t take the children and run when it looked like she could have. 

Otherwise, for a horror film, I was moved and carried along by the drama.

This film will thrill you and chill you in its play on electronically “safe” houses.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland